A Victoria University of Wellington researcher leaves for Denmark this week to embark on an 18-month study exploring the mindset of pain seekers.
Dr Ron Fischer, an
associate professor in the School of Psychology and AIAS-COFUND (Marie Curie)
fellowship recipient, will carry out his research at Aarhus Institute of
Advanced Studies (AIDS) at Aarhus University, Denmark’s highest-rated
university.
His study will look at why
humans voluntarily inflict pain on themselves through religious practices,
extreme sports and activities such as receiving tattoos and piercings.
“We’re trying to get a
better understanding of what’s actually happening to people—the motivations for
people to engage in pain, what happens to their bodies and minds, as well as benefits
or problems they may experience,” says Dr Fischer.
The study will give
novel insights into the psychology of pain and has potential to advance
knowledge in a number of domains, including new pain therapies and a better
understanding of how social groups bond through extreme practices.
The AIAS-COFUND Marie
Curie Fellowships bring international researchers to Denmark to pursue their
research interests at the AIAS and collaborate with other fellows as well as
local researchers.
Dr Fischer will commence
his fellowship next month, and is joined by researchers from Germany,
Edinburgh, Spain and Italy who work in a variety of fields including biology,
history and chemistry.
“I’m really looking
forward to interacting with people across different disciplines and being able
to connect with research centres in Europe,” says Dr Fischer.
He will work with
researchers from the MINDLab, a cutting-edge programme that looks at how the
brain and mind interact with the cultural environment.
The group will conduct
experiments in both the laboratory and the field, making it the first
comprehensive investigation of pain-seeking processes in non-clinical settings.
